Road Trip
by ThrashingWhiplash
Summary: The mane 6 are amped up for a cross-country vacation with each other. However, more than their mileage will be tested. Rated T for violence and language in the later chapters.  ON HIATUS
1. Prologue

Prologue: Preparations

The first day of summer was always significant in Ponyville. The flowers sprung up and the trees had grown most of their leaves back. Since the schools let out on the day, the young fillies were blissfully outside playing. Ponies took walks in the park and chatted with each other over lattes.

For Twilight Sparkle, it meant another day of studying.

She didn't complain, but there were times when she looked outside and yearned to be enjoying the sunlight and fresh air. The first day of summer each year seemed to be almost the same as any other for the unicorn. However, this year would be very different from the rest.

A knock came from the door around noonish. Twlight sighed and put down her book, Regeneration Spells. She opened the door and Pinkie Pie was standing in front of her.

"Oh, hi Pinkie. What's up?"

"Hey Twilight!" the jovial pony exclaimed, jumping up and down with added emphasis.

"Why are you so excited?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you could come to my Summer Bash party today at 2! All of our friends are going to be there!"

"Oh, gosh, Pinkie. I wish I could, but I'm way behind in my studying. Thanks for the invite, though." She smiled.

"I understand! You're missing a great party, though!" Pinkie had stopped jumping but still sported a wide grin.

"I know. Later, Pinkie." The door closed and Pinkie was left staring at the painted wood that made it up.

Pinkie sighed. "Twilight's been studying a lot lately! She needs some serious funification!" she said to no one in particular.

The party was indeed held at 2 that afternoon in the park. It was a massive celebration. Nearly all of the ponies in Ponyville attended. There were tons of sweets, cases of soda by the dozens, and lots of games. Four of the mane 6 were talking under an oak tree when Pinkie arrived. "Hi girls!" she enthusiastically waved.

"Well, howdy Pinkie." Applejack returned the favor. "Say, ya seen Twilight around?"

"Actually, that's just what I came to talk about! She's been so busying studying, she's missed 4 of my last 5 parties! Even my Festival of Fun!" the other ponies knew this was serious; Pinkie's Festival of Fun was one of the biggest festivals thrown this side of Equestria. Even the Princesses attended.

"Well, she obviously needs some way to unwind. I just hope it isn't pouring over any of her books." Rarity replied.

"I wonder if she needs, you know, a vacation?" Rainbow Dash cocked one eyebrow up. Pinkie gasped. "She DOES need a vacation!"

"I wonder where she wants to go…" Fluttershy pondered this quietly.

"It doesn't have ta be just her. Maybe we could all go on vacation with her?" Applejack wondered. Pinkie gasped even louder than before.

"I know! A road trip! From coast to coast!" she bounced up and down again.

"Well…I've always wanted to examine the fashion boutiques in Manehatten…." Rarity's eyes brightened.

"And I've always to swoop around the Grand Canyon in Arizoneigh!" Rainbow Dash added.

"Ah've heard they have some might nice farmin' goin' on in the central states. Like in Nabrayska! Ah'd love to check it out!"

"Well, if it's not too much trouble, I've heard of the Fillydelphia Zoo. Apparently, they have some rare and exotic animals there. I'd love to see them…" Fluttershy pawed at the ground.

"And I'd love to go to Los Poneles! It's this huge, exciting city! I might even meet my most favorite movie star of all time, Fireball Flash!" Pinkie gushed.

"But…how in the hay are we gonna make it to all of them places b'fore summer's over?" Applejack's question cast a look of mild nervousness over the ponies. Then, Pinkie snapped back to attention.

"I know! Rarity, don't you have a driver's license?"

"Well, yes, but I don't have a car large enough to accommodate all of us…"

"That's okay! Mr. and Mrs. Cake have their RV They use it sometimes to go on vacation themselves! I'm sure they'd let us borrow it!"

"An RV? Pinkie, that hardly seems like a form of transportation I'd go on…" Rarity began.

"Come on, silly! It's like a mobile house! Besides, we're not living in it forever, just for the summer!" Pinkie grinned.

"Okay! Then it's settled? A road trip from coast to coast! That's awesome!" Rainbow Dash spread her wings.

"Wait!" Pinkie shouted at her. "We still need to know when we're leaving!"

The group remained silent, until Fluttershy piped up. "Um…how about Saturday?"

"Saturday? Hm…that's in five days, so sure! That works!" Pinkie was bouncing up and down yet again.

"I'll go ask Twilight A.S.A.P!" Dash took off in the direction of the library as fast as she could. The other ponies watched her go.

Twilight was almost finished with her book when the second knock of the day erupted from the door. She sighed again and opened the door using her magic.

"Hiya, Twi!" Rainbow Dash greeted.

"Hi, Dash. What's up?"

"Well, me and the girls have been thinking. You have been studying a lot lately, so maybe you need a vacation?"

"A vacation? Hm…well, I guess I have been studying a lot lately, and it's been a while since I've gone someplace fun…" Twilight considered. "Well, when is it?"

"We leave on Saturday. Actually, it's not as much a vacation as it is a road trip from coast to coast! We're using the Cakes' RV!" Rainbow Dash almost yelled with glee.

"A road trip? Hm…yes, I'll go. It sounds like a lot of fun. Besides, I've always had a secret desire to visit the space center they have down in Foalida."

"Awesome!" Dash didn't realize it, but she had sported a wingboner. "Start packing! We'll see you on Saturday!" with that, she turned around and flew speedily back to the park. Twilight closed the door and went back to finishing her book, smiling like she won the lottery.

[[A few things:

I know I said I would start on "Saving Private Macintosh", but I'm stuck with the basic training chapter. If anyone could PM me with what the U.S.A. Air Force basic training is like, I'll give you a shout-out at the end of SPM.

Sorry for all of the ridiculous pun names of states and cities. It was the best I could do.

I have a head cold right now, so I probably won't update this as fast as I have been with my previous fanfics. Sorry.

~DD~]]


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One: On The Road

"AARRGH!" Rainbow Dash frantically looked around her cluttered apartment in Cloudsdale. She was all packed, but was missing one important thing; "Where the hell did I put my DVD player?" She had ordered a DVD of the Wonderbolts' performance at the Ponylympics and hoped to watch it when they were on the road. However, without a DVD player, she was screwed.

"Okay, okay." She slowly inhaled and exhaled. "I had it yesterday when it was charging. I left it on…" she turned to a small table in her living room, and there it was. "I'm an idiot." She thought. After Dash grabbed it and the charger and stuffed it into its case, she sped out of the building, her bags trailing behind her.

"Hiya Fluttershy! Ready for the expert in pet care?" Spike smiled slyly.

"Oh, yes. Remember how you did it last time, and we should be good." Then, quieter, she mumbled "…at least, I hope so…"

"You can count on me!" the dragon beamed.

"Oh, excellent! See you sometime soon, Angel! I'll keep in touch!" she nuzzled her pet bunny before gliding out the door with her luggage. As soon as she left, all the animals started acting crazy. The birds flew out of their cages and circled the room. The chickens bawked like there was no tomorrow. Angel started bouncing all over the place. Spike sighed. "This is going to be a loooong stay…"

"Hey, lil' sis, ya sure ya wants to go?" Big Macintosh asked.

"You bet yer apple crop ah am. Ah've always wanted to see corn an' wheat farmin' out west." She was standing at the edge of the gate that led out of Sweet Apple Acres and towards Ponyville.

"Alright. Take care, ya hear?" Big Mac nodded his head. Applejack did the same and departed for the town.

Twilight Sparkle trotted past the assorted shops on her way to Pinkie Pie's house she shared with Mr. and Mrs. Cakes. "A road trip sounds most fun…" she thought. Around another corner, and there was a giant behemoth of a vehicle next to the Cakes'. The RV was pretty average. The only main difference was that there were two pink stripes running across either side of it. In the shotgun seat, Pinkie Pie was waving frantically at Twilight. In the driver's seat, Rarity was trying to hide as far down as she could. Twilight boarded the RV.

"Hiya Twi! Isn't this going to be awesome!" Pinkie was so excited, she nearly hit her head on the roof.

"Yeah, hopefully." She peered around the large and clean interior that smelled like a bakery. Everyone else was already on board. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were playing a heated game of Go Fish on the 50's-style booth-and-table combo. Fluttershy was reading a book on one of the four beds in the back end.

"Okay, girls. Is everyone ready?" Rarity asked. She was still nervous that some bigwig designer would take one look at the RV and scoff at her. A "Yes!" erupted from every pony almost simultaneously. "Okay! Let's get this show on the road, as they say!" using her magic, she put the stick shift in drive, pressed her foot against the accelerator, and the RV began moving.

Twilight set her bags down in one of the four empty bunks. Then, she noticed a problem. "Hey…there are only four beds. Where do the other two sleep?" she asked Pinkie.

"Don't worry!" she opened a door and pulled out two air mattresses and an air pump. "Pinkamena Diane Pie always comes prepared!"

"So she does…" Twilight reclined on her bed and reached into her bag. she pulled out the Neightendo DS she bought a few months ago and started it up. She had a copy of "Big Brain Academy: Pony Plus Edition" inserted. She liked the mental stimulation, and eased herself into a world where only knowledge exists.

"Okay, so where am I going?" Rarity asked Pinkie, her "trusty" navigator. Pinkie held the map over her head. "Um…I'm trying to…I can't read any of the names…um…"

"Pinkie, you're holding it upside-down."

"Oh. I knew that." She flipped the map. "Okay. Ponyville is here, right?" she pointed at the northernmost state in Equestria.

"Yes, deary. Ponyville, Mane."

"Okay. I think you get on P-55 and continue down that way. It should take us to Neigh York."

"Okay. Thank you, Pinkie." She turned off the paved road that she had been following ever since they left Ponyville and got onto the on-ramp for P-55.

"Okay! Just keep driving southward, and we'll make it there lickity-spit!" Pinkie accidently emphasized the phrase by spitting on the windshield.

"Ick! Please, clean that off!" Rarity moved her head away as far as she could from the splatter while still keep her eyes on the highway.

"Will do!" Pinkie bounced to the kitchen area to retrieve some paper towels.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash were locked in yet another game of Go Fish. They had each won one game and now it was a tiebreaker. "Ya thank ya can jus' whup me like this?" Applejack smiled deviously.

"Are you kidding? I was born to win card games." She slapped down a pair of twos. Now they each had one card left. Applejack drew from the deck in between them and smiled.

"Or were ya?" she put down a pair of sevens and thus ended the game.

"Hey!" Rainbow slapped the table and nearly caused her energy drink can to flip off. "You cheated!"

"How can ya cheat in Go Fish?" Appjleack was more confused than angry.

"Um…I really don't know…eheheh…" she slid back down in her seat.

"Ya up for another round?" Applejack shuffled the deck.

"Game on."

Fluttershy was enthralled by her novel. The basis plot was that a poor pony and a prince pony looked exactly like each other, down to their cutie marks. They met, humorously traded each other's places in life out of curiosity, and found themselves in one sticky situation to the next. Fluttershy couldn't believe how simple the plot was, yet so genius as well. She put down the novel to take another sip of her iced tea. "This trip is going along smoothly…" she thought to herself. "All of my friends, a long vacation…I only worry that my animals will miss me. Oh, well, as least I let Spike have a webcam. As soon as we get to a motel…" she patted her bag. "…I can boot it up and see how Angel and the other animals are doing." She sighed and resumed her book with a smile on her face.

"Get back in your cages! Please?" Spike franticly chased the parrots around the room. Then, as soon as he thought he almost corralled on, he smacked his face into the wall. "Augh…this is going to be an INCREDIBLY long stay…" he thought in dull pain as he peeled his face off Fluttershy's living room wall.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A New Traveler

"So, where are we now, Pinkie?" Rarity asked as she was peering over the map.

"We're in a truck and RV stop, silly."

"Yes, I realize that, but where IS the truck and RV stop?

"On the border of Neigh York and Vermount."

"Okay. So we should be able to make it to Manehatten and Neigh York City by tomorrow evening." Rarity leaned back in the booth. Nighttime had fallen and the mane 6 took refuge at a truck and RV stop. Rarity and Pinkie were the only ones onboard the RV. The others had gone to the gas station/ mini-mart across the street to get themselves some snacks.

"I hope they remembered their cards…"Rarity pondered. Just a few years earlier, a new device had swept through Equestria. It was called an ABM, or an Automatic Bit Machine. It allowed anypony to store bits in a bank account and withdrawal them if needed onto a credit card. It was what the mane 6 were going to use throughout the whole trip.

"Don't worry! I'm sure they did!" Pinkie bounced up and down on the tiled floor. Suddenly, she stood up, alarmed. "My knee is pinching!"

"But that means…something scary is going to happen! What, though?" Just then, Rarity's thoughts were interrupted by a sound like firecrackers coming from the mini-mart. Exchanging a horrified glance, the two ponies bolted out the door and towards the noise.

_5 Minutes earlier…_

"Okay, do you girls have everything you want?" Twilight asked the three other ponies. They were standing in the aisle chock full of bagged chips and pretzels. In fact, Twilight was using her magic to lift two of them as she was speaking.

"Yeah! I got all I need!" Rainbow Dash proudly proclaimed, and she held up two cases of Pwny, an energy drink that sold quite well in Equestria.

"Same, sugar cube." Applejack hefted the apple pies she was carrying onto he back.

"Yes. I'm happy with my selection." Fluttershy was holding a small box of animal crackers.

"Okay. So, who's paying?" The ponies stared at Twilight. "…Fine." They went to the counter manned by a teenage Pegasus who looked like he wanted to be anywhere other than working at the store. He added up the total amount. "65 bits, please." Twilight handed him her credit card. He swiped it through and handed it back to her. "Thank you, and come again."

"You're welcome. Let's go back to the RV girls." Twilight told them. However, they wouldn't quite make it back.

At about the moment they started to move, two stallions wearing black hoodies barged in holding shotguns. One circled back around the counter and grabbed the petrified attendant around the neck. "Give me all of your damn money!" he yelled at him.

The second one corralled the scared group of ponies into the back corner of the store. Well, all except Fluttershy, who fainted upon sight of the firearms. "Now, stay back here, or else you'll get a mouthful of lead." He told them angrily.

The first pony was now being handed cash by the attendant. "Good, good…" he told no one in particular after he had all of the money in the register. However, he then swung the weapon around, pulled the trigger, and shot the attendant with a hail of buckshot. The Pegasus went down with a shower of blood. The robbers smiled at each other.

Rainbow Dash couldn't take it anymore. She stood up, full of anger at the robbers. They had shot and possibly killed a helpless mini-mart worker even after he gave them cash. Then, acknowledging that they were tough for doing that…

"Hey! Get back down, you son of a-!" the second pony started.

"No. You get your ass down into hell, you motherfucker!" her friends gasped. RD was never known to swear that harshly.

"Oh, a wise pony, are ya? We'll just take care of that." He was planning to shoot her and then the remaining ponies before bolting into the thick forest behind the station. He never even got the shotgun pointed in their direction.

Dash smashed into his chest, breaking almost all of his ribs at the speed she was going. He gasped in horrid pain. Then, she used him as a battering ram and plowed him straight through the glass window that covered the storefront. He lay on the asphalt parking lot, bleeding and struggling to breathe. She then turned her attention to the accomplice, whose jaw was now wide open. His blood ran cold as she made eye contact.

"P-Please! Spare me!" he dropped to his knees and started crying. "I have no money or job or family! My life is a train wreck! I just needed the cash! Please…" he couldn't speak anymore he was so welled up with tears.

"Then why did you shoot the attendant?" she glanced over at the slumping figure in the corner and gasped. The pegasus was sitting in a pool of blood at least three feet in diameter and he wasn't moving.

"I…I…" he placed his hooves against his face again. "Please, just spare me!"

"Okay…" she grabbed his shotgun. "But you're going to sit there like a good little pony and wait until the cops come. Or else…" she pumped the shotgun. "…shit's going down."

"Okay!" he whimpered. Rainbow Dash turned back to her friends. They were up and attending to Fluttershy. "Twilight, call 9-1-1 for me." She asked coolly.

"Will do." Twilight grabbed her iPony 3GS and quickly dialed the number.

"We came as fast as we could! What's-"Rarity skidded to a stop a little bit inside the store. Pinkie Pie kept on skidding until she hit the slushie machine.

"Um…Dash, why do you have a shotgun? And who's that?" she pointed at the black-hooded figure.

"Actually, I really don't know." She pulled back the hood and gasped. "Lightning Storm?"

"Well…um…hi, Dash. Haven't seen you since high school…eheh…" the black pony smiled nervously through his tears.

"What happened, Storm? You used to be one of the coolest ponies around! I remember when you jumped off Twister's roof at his party at the end of our junior year and did a cannonball into the swimming pool! Seriously…what?" she was about ready to cry herself, which went against everything she believed it.

"I flunked the entrance exam to college. I was drunk, so I probably should've. Then, no company would hire me, my girlfriend left me, and now…" he sighed. "I have to resort to robbery for a living.

"Wow. I…I can't believe it…" she herself dropped to her knees. "Storm, you do realize you're going to prison? Maybe for life?"

"Life isn't worth living anymore for me…" he trailed off.

"I'm incredibly sorry it had to happen like this. I wish this could've turned out differently…" the tears she had tried to hold back for so long started flowing out.

"I know…if only…" his voice was fractured.

"But, seriously…why did you kill the cashier?"

"I wanted to know what killing someone felt like. I thought it would feel great, but in reality, all it's brought me so far is shame. I still can't believe-"

"Hey, he's alive!" Pinkie shouted between gulping cherry slushie straight out of the machine. All heads turned towards the cashier. His chest slightly lifted and fell. Twilight was next to him in a flash. "Oh, God, I hope this works. I finished the book, but I still haven't tried this…" she harnessed the power of her magic and, slowly, the bullet holes started closing and his blood was being replenished. "It didn't puncture any major organs. That's a surprise." She remarked quietly.

"Oh, Rainbow, what am I going to do! Even if he lives, I will still be charged with attempted murder and locked up forever!"

"I thought you wanted to be locked up forever.

"After seeing you, I don't want to anymore." He gulped. "Rainbow…I love you."

She was taken aback. "Wow…um…I really don't know what to say…oh, wait. I do." She planted her lips firmly against his. He was wide-eyed for the first few moments but then slowly closed them to enjoy the blissful moment.

"Done!" Twilight was sweating and panting. The spell had taken a lot more out of her than she expected. However, he was patched up and his blood was replaced. Slowly, he started moving again.

"Y'all better hurry, 'cause the cops are acomin'." Applejack started briskly trotting out of the door with the still-unconscious Fluttershy resting on her back.

"But I can't just leave Storm here! He'll get thrown into jail!" Dash protested.

"Well, what do you expect to do with him? Take him along with us?" As soon as Rarity saw the sparkle in her eyes, she regretted ever mentioning it.

"That's a great idea! He can hide out with us until the cops stop chasing his tail!"

"Seriously, you're bringing a homicidal maniac with us? What if he decides to kill us all?"

"He isn't a bad pony. He's just incredibly down on his luck." She turned back to Storm. He had stopped crying but still wore a frown on his face."C'mon. You're coming with us."

The other members of the mane 6 thought she was crazy, but Rainbow stayed true to her word and grabbed him by his hooves. In the blink of an eye, she was out the door and flying back to the rest stop, Lightning Storm desperately tried to hold on. The other ponies ran as fast as they could to catch up.

They reached the RV just as the first police car pulled up to the scene of the crime. Rarity hopped into the driver's seat.

"DRIVE, DAMMIT, DRIVE!" Dash shouted at her as soon as the rest of the group came into the trailer. Rarity put the RV into drive, backed out of the parking spot, and floored it. There was a back entrance to the rest stop that connected to another road. They sped out, tires screamed against the asphalt. Rarity looked into the rearview mirror and the last thing she saw of the crime scene was Lightning's friend being loaded onto a stretcher. "Did you really have to be that rough with him, deary?" she was trying not to panic.

Dash looked up from the table where she had been comforting Lightning Storm. "Well, he said he was going to shoot us…" RD turned back to Storm. "By the way, who was your little henchman?"

"A guy I met at a tavern that was in the same situation I was. I think his name was Sheet Metal."

"That's a weird name. But, whatever. All that matters is that you're safe." She got up to go to the fridge but then looked around. "Um…where are my cans of Pwny?"

Applejack responded "Um…well, shoot, we left 'em at the mini-mart."

"Aw, dammit!" Dash became pissed. Storm couldn't help but laugh at the pegasus' irritated expression. Rarity kept on driving.


	4. Chapter 3

[[I just realized something- it's chapter 3, and we're only just now getting to the first planned destination the mane 6 have. Aye-ye-ye, this is going to be a long fanfic. However, it's not like I don't enjoy writing it. I'm having a blast writing each chapter. So, with that, enjoy.]]

Chapter 3: Neigh York City and Manehatten

Applejack's eyes burned as more bile from her stomach shot out of her mouth and straight down into the ocean. "Ohhh…" she woozily groaned.

"Seasickness is a burden, I'll give it that." Twilight stood a few feet from Applejack, trying to keep her distance so as to avoid being hit by her vomit.

"Ah…ah nev'r knew ah…was seasick…" she gasped for air as another wave of nausea rolled over her.

"You've never been on a boat before."

"Ah know…ulp!" she leaned her head over the railing again and prepared to eject more of the snacks that she had had since yesterday night.

Twilight sighed and trotted over to the bench where the rest of the mane 6 and Lightning Storm were seated. "Don't worry about her. The ferry should dock on Manehatten in the next few minutes." Twilight told the group. Since last night, they had traveled straight through Neigh York (avoiding main roads for Lightning's sake.) and boarded a ferry that would take them to Neigh York City and Manehatten.

The Statue of Librayty came into view, and the group gathered around the railing. Well, all except Rarity, who was sound asleep on one of the benches. It suddenly came to Twilight that Rarity hadn't slept since the day they left Ponyville. She probably would've let her sleep, if not for the fact that the ferry keeps following its route

"MANEHATTEN, NEXT DESTINATION." A voice from a loudspeaker echoed. Everypony on board drifted back to their belongs and packed up whatever they had in their hands.

Twilight trotted back to Applejack, who was now incredibly exhausted and panting. "We're done. Hopefully, you won't puke anymore."

"Ah…ah don't think there's anything left that ah can puke…" she mumbled.

"Well, can you walk?" Applejack tested out each wobbly hoof by placing it on the deck and then taking baby steps. "…Yup."

"Can you guys hurry up? Jeez, you're slowpokes!" Pinkie giggled. She had her bags on her back, as did the rest of the group. Most of the tourists had already exited the boat. Twilight watched Applejack carefully just in case she fell. Which she did. Flat on her face. "Oof!"

"Are you sure you don't want help?" Twilight asked with a hint of alarm in her voice.

"Well, just for right now…" Twilight helped her up, wrapped her hoof around AJ's neck, and they both slowly walked down the ramp that led to the dock and the rest of the group.

The Manehatten skyline was dotted with skyscrapers, many of them giant steel behemoths of buildings. Coming from a small town in Mane, the mane 6 were astonished at the sheer height of the buildings. However, Fluttershy just smiled. "They certainly are as impressive as they were when I was younger…"

"Fluttershy? You lived here before?" Rarity asked. The other ponies had heard very little of Fluttershy's past, so they tuned in to listen.

"Oh, well, yes. My father was a businessman for one of the large corporate companies centered here. I remember ice-skating on the lake in Central Park, looking out through the crown of the Statue of Librayty, and playing the newest video games and demos at Neightendo World. In fact, I used to live in an apartment on the outskirts until we moved to Cloudsdale after…" she trailed off.

"After what?" Rainbow Dash asked

"…After my father lost his job." She shed tear and whimpered slightly.

"Its okay, Deary. Don't cry." Rarity comforted her. Fluttershy sniffled. "I-I guess…"

"Alright." Twilight turned back to the group. "Where do you ponies want to go first?"

"A Broadbray show!" Rarity exclaimed. "I already claimed my ticket!"

"Neightendo World!" Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie shouted at the same time. "Me too…" Fluttershy mumbled.

"I really don't care." Storm responded. "Ah don't, either." Applejack added.

"Hm…well, let's split up and meet back here at 7:00ish. It's currently…" she checked the time on her iPony. "…9 in the morning. Alright?" the other ponies were already walking to their respective destinations. Twilight sighed and pulled out a map.

_Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash; 10 A.M._

"Oooh! This one looks like it's ready to party!" Pinkie squealed as she held up another plush Ponymon doll.

"This one looks like it's ready to fight to the death!" Rainbow Dash pulled another off of the shelves. That's what lined the walls of Neightendo World; shelves. Lots of them.

"I want it! He's sooo cute!" she hugged the stuffed doll tightly.

"You have your credit card, don't you? What's stopping ya?"

"YAAAAAAAAY!" she bounced a bit higher than normal and almost hit her head on the ceiling.

"Um…yeah, just go pay for it, m'kay?" Pinkie bounced on over to the register. Rainbow sighed and put the Ponymon back. "Now where did Fluttershy go? We just got here, like, ten minutes ago…" On a whim, she glided up the strairs onto the second floor. Clothes and playable Neightendo games were scattered across this floor. Rainbow Dash wondered if there was a Mareo t-shirt in her size. She loved the portly plumber pony's perfect platformers.

Then she saw Fluttershy. The other pegasus was playing one of the many games that the store offered. Looking closer, Rainbow saw that she was playing bowling on Pii Sports, the game that came with Neightendo's newest console, the Pii.

And she was kicking ass.

Fluttershy was on frame 6 and had only missed a strike once. In its place was a spare symbol. Then, as Rainbow watched, Fluttershy's eyes grew narrower, almost to the point of looking angry. She swung the Piimote back and then brought it forward again in one fluid motion. The bowling ball her avatar was holding was thrown forward and rolled down the alley. The pins scattered and Fluttershy earned herself another strike.

"Damn, Fluttershy! You are sure good at this game!" Dash instantly regretted saying this right next to her when the yellow pegasus had no idea she was there. Her heart skipped a beat and she nearly dropped the controller. "Oh…um…thank you." She whispered.

"How did you get so good at this game? Hell, you're better than me!"

"Well, what do you think I do all day when I'm not taking care of my animals?" Fluttershy thought she sounded too aggressive and apologized after she finished the sentence.

"No apology necessary! Just keep playing. I'm curious to see how awesome you'll do!" Dash stared intently at the screen.

Fluttershy was shaken up, so she only got a 7 on her next frame. "Calm down. I'm sincerely sorry if I scared you. You'll do fine. Just keep playing." Dash coaxed.

Another frame marked with an X, and Pinkie came trotting over. "Those lines are LOOOOONG!" she complained. Again, Fluttershy became frightened and almost broke the controller.

"Shhh, Pinkie. Fluttershy's doing awesome on bowling." They both watched as Fluttershy got another strike after calming down.

_Rarity; 10:30_

Rarity was relieved that she finally made it into the theater after an hour of waiting. Her hooves felt like they were going to fall off. She wondered if they were even longer in the afternoons. "I don't want to find out…" she thought.

An usher helped her locate her seat in section C. Grateful to be able to rest her sore legs, she plopped down in the red velvet chair and let out a sigh. "Mmmm…what time is it?" she checked her cell phone. "10:30? I have 45 minutes…" she unintentionally let out a yawn. "I guess I can rest for a few minutes..." Closing her eyes, she imagined what the play would be like. And without knowing it, she slowly drifted off into a well-deserved sleep.

_Twilight Sparkle and Lightning Storm; 11:00_

"About time the ferry gets here." Storm grumbled as they walked down the gangplank onto the dock of Librayty Island.

"The seas are unusually rough. I'm assuming a storm offshore or something to those terms. Besides, the clouds are darkening. Are they not?" she pointed at the overcast layer that blanketed the sky.

"I suppose your right. Oh, well. We're here." His gaze fell on a giant, green statue of a pony. She was decorated with a robe and a seven-pointed crown and held aloft a burning torch while also holding what appeared to be a tablet.

"You know, I read somewhere that she was originally copper but, in time, oxidization occurred and changed the bronze-like color into her now-present green hue." Twilight told him as they were walking down the pathway to the entrance.

"I didn't know that actually. Now, when I'm on a game show, I'll be sure to win!" he joked. Twilight smirked. "Well, you never know…"

They turned a corner and a long tent full of security measures appeared. An equally long line of ponies waited, some more patient than others. "Damn, this'll be a while…" Storm frowned.

"Well, we have until 7. Let's do this, shall we?" Twilight took her place at the back of the line. Storm reluctantly followed. "You seem to know a lot about the Statue of Librayty…"

"Well, I do read and study a lot. In fact, that's why I'm here. My friends said I needed a vacation and it seems like I do."

"Now that I think about it, if you never went on the vacation, you never would've found me. I would've still been committing robberies…" he trailed off. Twilight thought she saw a tear run down his cheek.

"Well, we found you. And, apparently, we lucked out that you knew Dash." She shifted her bag. "Speaking of which, you know Rainbow Dash from high school?"

"Yeah. We used to hang out all the time and do some crazy stuff. Like this one time during our sophomore year, we were in biology and had to dissect a frog. She and I were partners, and neither of us wanted to cut open the thing. So, she took the frog, and flung it…"

They kept talking.

_Applejack; 11:15_

Applejack felt like she could stare at the flickering LED numbers on the clock at Times Square for hours. But, she knew other ponies would think she was crazy, so she pressed on looking for something else that her farm had never had.

[[Author's notes time:

I was going to include a flashback where Fluttershy says "After my father lost his job." that had her parents fighting and then her mother asking for a divorce. However, out of curiosity, I Googled "Flttuershy's parents", and lo and behold, there was this incredibly adorable image that popped up. I couldn't go through with it, so I got rid of it and changed it to her father losing his job. I think I saved my skin by doing that.

Anyways: This chapter took me one week to write, proofread, and revise. But I feel like it was worth it. I think I did a pretty good job.

Oh, one more thing: I'm not going to include anything relating to Ground Zero nor the World Trade Center buildings. I feel like I will offend anybody who had friends or relatives die in the attacks. God bless those souls. (Well, not the hijackers. They can rot in hell.)

~DD~]]


	5. Chapter 4

[[A few people have told me about the overkill of puns so far. I'm basically trying to ponify America as much as possible to make it fit with the story. However, that unfortunately means a lot of groaning on the reader's part. I'm sorry, but I really can't do anything about it.

~DD~]]

Chapter 4: Neigh York and Manehatten (Part 2)

_Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash; 11:30_

Fluttershy glared menacingly at the TV screen. "Oh, you're all mine now, pins…" a sharp swing forward, and her ball rolled down the alley. After slightly curving to the left, it hit the pins dead-on, knocking them all down almost instantaneously.

3rd strike in the tenth frame.

A perfect 300-point game.

A sudden burst of clapping caused Fluttershy to nearly jump out of her wings. She turned around and was astonished (and almost frightened) to see a crowd of almost 20 ponies standing around her, clapping and cheering for her.

"Oh, um…t-thank you." She stammered. Just then, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie appeared out of the crowd and hugged their friend. "You kicked some serious ass, Fluttershy!" Dash congratulated. "You did super-awesomely-terrific!" Pinkie shouted.

"Oh, um…thanks…it wasn't that bad…really." Her friends broke up the hug when the employee managing the cash register on the second floor came over to her. "Congratulations miss. You're the first one ever to get a perfect game of bowling on Pii Sports. For that…" he reached around and grabbed something out of his bag. "Here's a free copy of the new game, Super Mareo Galaxy. Enjoy." He trotted back over to the register while Fluttershy gazed at the cover. "Oh wow…holy biscuits…" she mumbled.

"I'm hungry with a capital H-U-N-G-R-Y!" Pinkie interrupted. "Let's go get some grub!" she bounded down the stairs. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy followed her close behind.

_Twilight Sparkle and Lightning Storm; 11:45_

"Oh my God, were those security lines ever long." Storm grumbled as he exited the building. "Actually, I think one of the security guards gave me quite a few glances. I hope he didn't recognize me…" a wave of panic washed over him.

"I doubt it, since it happened back on the Vermount/ Neigh York border. However, anything's possible…" Twilight tapered off.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." He peered up at the gigantic statue and smiled. "I wonder what it's going to be like peering out over the entire skyline of NYC and Manehatten…"

"Awe-inspiring, no doubt. Let's go." She entered through the doors that led to the inside of the pedestal. Right before he entered, Storm felt a raindrop on his flank. _Oh, Jesus. She was right. _He thought.

"What's wrong? You look annoyed." Twilight asked him when he got through the doors. "It's starting to rain. I hate getting wet." He grumbled. "Well, if you want, we can wait it out in here." She replied. "I guess. We just got here, anyways." He gazed around the enormous room and saw a skeletal structure of rivets in the center.

"What is that?" he pointed at it.

"That's a model of the Statue's torch."

"That thing's gigantic."

"Indeed. But, for now, to the crown." She made her way up the first set of stairs. Storm shrugged and followed her.

_Applejack; 12:00_

Applejack had found another engineering feat she really liked: the subway. After her curiosity led her to enter the station (and struggle with the ticket machine for fifteen minutes), she experienced what she thought was the fastest she had ever gone in her entire life. As she gazed around at the jungle of metal poles ("Reminds me of mah first job." she reminisced), she also realized how many different ponies rode the subway. A businesscolt here, a construction worker there…she was a bit overwhelmed. However there was one thing she really didn't like about the train.

"22ND STREET, NEXT STOP." A disembodied voice echoed out of the loudspeaker. Applejack was startled by the sudden outburst (for the fifth time in a row) and shouted at it (for the fifth time in a row) "Shut yer goll-dang trap b'fore ah shut it for yah!" Every other pony in the car turned to stare at her (for the fifth time in a row). "Ehehe…mighty sorry." Applejack apologized (for the fifth time in a row).

_Rarity: 12:30_

The first act had finished and Rarity was delighted at the stellar performance so far. Since there was nothing else for her to do for the next fifteen minutes until the next act, she decided to check her messages. She only had one new one from Rainbow Dash. It read:

"fluttershy won a copy of super mareo galaxy fr pwning at pii sports. awesomesauce!"

Rarity smiled and texted back:

"That's great deary! I didn't realize she was that good at Sports."

After sending the message (and reflecting on her anal-retentiveness about proper grammar), Rarity relaxed and waited for the intermission to finish.

_Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash; 1:15_

"I'm soooo happy the rain stopped!" Pinkie Pie hopped from puddle to puddle in Neigh York City's Central Park.

"As am I. Now, the animals will surely come out and play." Fluttershy looked around hopefully.

"I'm just glad it stopped so we wouldn't have to spend one more minute in that damn burger joint watching the raindrops fall and chatting over milkshakes and crappy French fries." Reclining on her back, Rainbow Dash looked like she was floating in a pool as she hovered past Fluttershy.

"What are you talking about, silly? That place was awesome! I got a kiddie meal toy!" no puddle was safe from Pinkie as she bounded between them.

Fluttershy wasn't listening. She remembered a blissful time not that long ago…

_ "Well, Fluttershy, this is Central Park. How do you like it?" Fluttershy's father smiled as he watched his young daughter absorb the beautiful scenery. He was yellow (much like Fluttershy), sported a darkish-red mane, and was an earth pony._

_ "Wow…" a stunned Fluttershy watched the trees dance and sway in the breeze. Then a monarch butterfly gently landed on the tip of her nose. She squealed while her father looked on with a smirk. "That's a butterfly, Fluttershy. Your mother thought you were as delicate as one, so she came up with your rhyming name. You're as cute as one, too." He felt a warm feeling wash over him. His daughter giggled. "It's tickling me!" Both she and her father broke into a fit of laughter._

"Hey, Fluttershy? You feeling alright?" Rainbow Dash's remark snapped Fluttershy back into the present day. "Oh, yes. I'm fine. Just some memories…"

"I understand. But, we need to catch up with Pinkie." She pointed at a bouncing figure that was rapidly growing smaller. They both rushed to catch up her.

_Twilight Sparkle and Lightning Storm; 1:45_

"That view was incredible! You could see the whole bay and the entire city!" Storm made a sweeping motion with his forelegs for emphasis.

"The climb, however…not so much." Twilight pointed out.

"Oh, yeah…" he lowered his hooves. They settled on either side of the can of Pwny he was drinking. "But the view was still freaking amazing."

"Indeed. I took some great photos with my phone." As if on cue, her phone chirped. "Oh, a text message?" she unlocked her phone and scanned the message. "Um…holy Celestia…"

"What?" a hint of panic in his voice, Storm sat up on the bench.

"Here, take a look." She slid her phone across the picnic table. He peered at the screen. The message was sent by Applejack and it read:

"yall arent gonna believe this…riots on wall street! Theyre protestin the rich and powerful. i cant say much more because I really need to get the hell away from the crazy mob"

Oh a whim, Storm scrolled up and found that the last conversation Twilight and Applejack had had been about how hard it was to find a passionate colt. "Um…why…?" he momentarily forgot about the riots.

"Never mind! Let's just get back to the mainland and see if we can locate everyone." She tossed her phone into her bag and scurried off to the ferry docking station. Storm followed close behind.

[[I know somebody's going to point out that Fluttershy's first encounter with animals occurred when she was knocked off a cloud by Rainbow Dash as seen in her flashback during "Call of the Cutie". However, I wanted to include a scene from her early days, and Central Park seemed to be the best option. Don't quote me on that, though.

~DD~]]


	6. Chapter 5

[[The hiatus is dead, long live the hiatus.

Also, quick announcements: For those of you who haven't checked out my profile, I have a new fic uploaded. It's going to be a grimdark and my very first one. I'm also writing one that's going to be like Rocket to Insanity, only with cannibalism of sorts. I am such a hypocrite. :)

~DD~]]

Chapter 5: Neigh York and Manehatten (part 3)

_Applejack; 1:45_

Applejack had never seen so many ponies in a single place before in her life. They were all marching down Wall Street, the financial capital of Equestria, shouting chants and slurs that were along the lines of "Screw the rich, help the poor."

"Hey, what're y'all doin'?" she asked no single member of the crowd in particular. "We're sick of the greedy rich bastards of money-hungry companies." replied an orange colt with a red mane. "We, the poorer ponies, of Equestria, should get the tax cuts they do!" with that, he continued marching on.

Applejack looked up the street and saw impatient drivers leering and honking at the protesters in order to make them disperse. The mob still wouldn't disperse. Applejack got the sick feeling a few of the commuters were more than willing to run over a few of the ponies. With that in mind she strode down the sidewalk away from the crowd and stopped only she thought it was safe. She leaned against the outside wall of a watch shop to catch her breath.

"Ah better alert the others…" Applejack whipped out her phone and fired off a text to the other members of the mane six. Breathing a sigh of relief, she continued on down the sidewalk at a slower pace occasionally glancing around trying to spot her friends.

_Rarity; 1:50_

Rarity stepped out of the Broadbray Theater onto the dampened sidewalk. Just as she took a breath of fresh air, her phone chirped. _Now who could that be…? _taking her phone out of her bag, she perused Applejack's text.

"Um…holy shit…" she mumbled. Rarity quickly typed and sent a reply: "Do the others know?" A minute later: "yep. told ya all. what should we do?"

Rarity nearly ran into a fire hydrant as she fired off another text. "Um…leave? I don't know…"

Applejack: "i guess. who knows how rowdy this mob will get."

Rarity: "Text the others and see if they want to."

Applejack: "sure can do."

Rarity started to text back "See you lat-" before she rammed into another pony and fell to the ground. "Oof! Sorry!" she rubbed her temple. "Uh…hi Rarity." Applejack replied. Rarity looked up and saw the orange pony standing over her with an apologetic grin plastered onto her face. "Fancy meeting you here." Rarity smiled through the pain. Applejack pulled her back onto her hooves and replied. "C'mon. Let's go and wait for the other to get back to me." They walked side by side down the sidewalk.

_Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy; 2:00_

"Protests? Damn." Rainbow Dash huddled with Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy over her phone. "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness…" Fluttershy started shaking. "Calm down! Jeez…" just then Dash got Applejack's other text: "yall wanna leave before things get hairy?"

"Hm…tempting…" Dash pondered. "I want to…if that's okay with you…" Fluttershy mumbled. Pinkie looked at the two other ponies with a disapproving stare. "Aw, c'mon you party poopers! Let's keep going!" as soon as the pink pony uttered those words, Dash got another text from Applejack: "the rest of us want to. do you?"

Dash looked at Fluttershy and asked "Hey, what's the quickest way out of here?" Fluttershy nodded towards a set of stairs leading underground. "Um…the metro, I think…"

"Okay. Let's go." Dash flipped her phone into her bag and started for the subway station. Pinkie and Fluttershy looked at each other before following her.

_Applejack and Rarity; 3:00_

"Why outta all of the places ah had ta walk be, it had to be a fancy jewelry store." Applejack grumbled as Rarity shopped for lavish accessories inside. Just then, she came out wearing a beautiful pearl necklace that glimmered in the sunlight. "Great. Yer done. Now, let's go." Applejack sounded as weary as she was annoyed. "Sure." Rarity admired herself quick in the reflection of the store's window.

"Isn't it grand? It wasn't cheap, but it was definitely my style!" Rarity bragged as she and Applejack walked past an alley. Just then, she heard muffled sobs coming from the narrow passageway. _Now what could that be…? _She nudged Applejack. "I heard what sounded like crying coming from over here. I'm going to check it out." Wandering down the deserted alleyway, she didn't know what to expect or when. Then, she spotted the source of the sobbing. A pegasus was sitting against the drab brick wall of one of the buildings. His tan-coated body was dirty and his orange mane was mussed-up and tattered. Rarity approached him. "Deary, what's wrong?"

The Pegasus looked up with teary eyes. "I *sniffle* lost my job around a month ago *sniffle* and now I have no money, no house *sniffle* nothing…" he broke into tears again. Rarity felt compelled to help the poor soul, but she didn't know what she could do. Then, a sudden moment of inspiration. She glanced down at her necklace and shook it off. _He needs it more than I do…_ she turned to him and offered him the pearls. "Here. Pawn it off and you'll be fine."

"How much is it*sniffle* worth?" he asked. When Rarity told him, his eyebrows skyrocketed. "Wow! That much! I'll gladly take it!" he eagerly took the necklace but stopped and turned to Rarity. "How can I ever repay you…"

"Don't. You're in enough trouble as it is right now. Just clean yourself up and sell it." She helped him get to his feet and they walked out of the alleyway together.

"Uh, Rarity? Who was that?" Applejack watched the pegasus walk down the street with a bounce in his step. Rarity smiled. "One lucky pegasus…." She herself felt a tear coming on. "Uh…'kay. Now, let's hurry and catch up ta the others."

Half-an-hour later and they were at the ferry dock. The rest of their friends were there as well. Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle were trading stories about the trip while Pinkie Pie looked on with amusement. Lightning Storm and Rainbow Dash sat next to each other on a bench and watched the waves in the bay. Rarity thought she could see them holding hands. "We're here!" she waved to the other ponies. "Oh, good! Just in time for the 3:45 ferry!" Twilight responded. Applejack's face soured. "Can't we take a bus or somethin'?"

"No. Our RV is parked in that parking garage, remember? Sorry, Applejack. I still have some seasickness pills, though"

"Gosh darn it…" Applejack sighed as she grabbed the bottle of pills from Twilight.


End file.
